Reward those who have hoped in you, and let
your prophets be proved true.

16

Hear the prayer of your servants, for you are
ever gracious to your people;

17

Thus it will be known to the very ends of the
earth that you are the eternal God.

18

2 The throat can swallow any food, yet some
foods are more agreeable than others;

19

As the palate tests meat by its savor, so does
a keen mind insincere words.

20

A deceitful character causes grief, but an
experienced man can turn the tables on him.

21

Though any man may be accepted as a husband,
yet one girl will be more suitable than another:

22

A woman's beauty makes her husband's face light
up, for it surpasses all else that charms the eye;

23

And if, besides, her speech is kindly, his lot
is beyond that of mortal men.

24

A wife is her husband's richest treasure, a
helpmate, a steadying column.

25

A vineyard with no hedge will be overrun; a man
with no wife becomes a homeless wanderer.

26

Who will trust an armed band that shifts from
city to city?

27

Or a man who has no nest, but lodges where
night overtakes him?

1 [1-17] Making an act of faith and
hope in the supreme Lord of the universe, the author begs God to continue
manifesting his holiness and mercy through Israel, his people
(⇒ Sirach 36:1-3,
⇒ 10-13), and his power and justice through the
punishment of the nations (⇒ Sirach 36:2,
⇒ 5-9), that all the earth may acknowledge him the
eternal God (⇒ Sirach 36:4,
⇒ 14-17).

2
[⇒ 36:18-⇒ 37:15] In
the choice of wife, friend or associate, experience is a discerner of character
(⇒ Sirach 36:18-21). Beauty and kindly speech make
a woman desirable as wife (⇒ Sirach 36:22-24). The
good wife becomes her husband's richest treasure, his helpmate in establishing
his household (⇒ Sirach 36:24-27). A true friend
fights for his comrade and shares his spoils with him
(⇒ Sirach 37:5-6); a false one deceives and abandons
him in time of need (⇒ Sirach 37:1-4). A true
counselor and associate should be sought among those who keep the commandments,
not among those who break them and seek their own advantage
(⇒ Sirach 37:7-12). In all things pray to God for
light and follow conscience (⇒ Sirach 37:13-15).